Diapering With Eco-Friendly Diapers and Wipes

When it comes to diapering your baby, there are countless products you can choose from. Since babies wear diapers 24/7, investing in eco-friendly, chemical-free diapers is one of the most important decisions you can make for your baby. Because of such prolonged use of diapers, and the fact they make direct contact with your baby’s skin, the risk of exposure to toxic substances from traditional diapers (even the “sensitive” versions) is high and simply not worth the cost savings that you’d get from mainstream diapers like Huggies, Pampers, and even Costco brands. Eco-friendly diapers will be pricier, but they’re 100% worth it in my opinion because your little one won’t be making physical contact around the clock with toxic substances such as chlorine, dyes, phthalates, and more. The good news is that you now have more options than ever before, including eco-friendly disposable diapers and natural baby wipes. Here’s a guide to diapering your baby, non-toxic style!

Non-Toxic Disposable Diapers

Diaper Pails

Natural Diaper Creams

The EWG recommends limiting baby’s use of personal care products to the absolute minimum required, but it’s still a good idea to have a natural, organic diaper cream on hand in the event of diaper rash or redness on baby’s bottom. I would recommend only using it when you see redness or diaper rash, rather than slathering some on after every diaper change.

Non-Toxic Baby Wipes (Disposable)

In general, I feel strongly that anything that touches baby’s body directly should (preferably) not contain harmful chemicals. That’s why it’s so important to choose natural, gentle, non-toxic wipes.

Water Wipes: They’re called Water Wipes because they are made from 99.9% purified water. The other 0.1% is grapefruit seed extract. The company calls these “the world’s purest baby wipes” and for good reason – they are chemical free, and essentially free of much else. While some other wipes can possibly cause diaper rash, given their harsh ingredients, Water Wipes are so pure that they may help possibly prevent diaper rash. They have EWG’s best rating of 1, but it turns out that grapefruit seed extract can commonly contain contaminants such as methylparaben and triclosan, which are exactly the harmful chemicals we are trying to avoid. Water Wipes has confirmed to me that they test every batch of grapefruit seed extract for contamination. This is why I have continued using Water Wipes despite the concerns over their use of grapefruit seed extract. But as with any wipes, use them sparingly (preferably only when baby has pooped). EWG Skin Deep Rating: 1.

Honest Company Baby Wipes: While I’m not always a fan of Honest Company products, I do recommend their wipes. They have an EWG rating of 1, and their wipes are free of fragrances, alcohol, chlorine, phthalates, formaldehyde carriers, parabens, phenols, quaternary ammonium compounds, SLS, lanolin, and most allergens. While these wipes are about $5 on the Honest Company website, Amazon charges a higher price for the wipes but includes free shipping for Prime members. So unless you’re making a large purchase from Honest Company ($50 or more) that will give you free shipping, you’ll pay less if you purchase these from Amazon. EWG Skin Deep Rating: 1.

Organic Baby Wipes (Reusable)

If you’d like to avoid disposable wipes altogether, or only use them while away from home, you can purchase or make reusable wipes. You can cut terry cloth or flannel fabric into wipe-sized squares and simply keep a spray bottle filled with water on baby’s changing table. If you’d prefer to purchase some cloth wipes, here are some great options.

Under the Nile Terry Wipes – 100% organic and made from Egyptian cotton (and made in Egypt), Under the Nile is a wonderful brand! We used these wipes and they were great. They did thin out after some use, but we have been using them for almost 2 years and haven’t needed to replace them yet. Also consider their Sherpa Wash Cloths.

Organic Bamboo Washcloths – Made from premium organic bamboo, and certified by Oeko-Tex, these wash cloths are soft and gentle on baby’s skin. The reason we didn’t go with this brand is because they’re manufactured in China, but they’re still a good choice given that the fabric is certified.

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